Toy marble conveying machine



May 17, 1966 E. F. BJORK TOY MARBLE CONVEYING MACHINE Filed Aug. 1, 1963l/VVE/VI'OE 6200/7 F; BJORK 51 M H. 2%

Arraeme-r United States Patent TOY MARBLE CONVEYING MACHIN Eldon F.Bjork, 3204 Wright St., Des Moines, Iowa Filed Aug. 1, 1963, Ser. No.299,385 Claims. (Cl. 4642) This invention relates to toys andparticularly to a toymarble machine.

Children, and adults too, are usually fascinated by mechanical deviceswhich have many moving parts which may be seen in operation.

Therefore it is an object of this invention to provide a toy marblemachine which through a number of conveyors continuously moves marblesor the like;

It is a further object of this invention to provide a toy marble machinewhich uses over and over again the same group of marbles or the like;

It is a further object of this invention to provide a toy machine whichwill subject marbles or the like to a number of different-handlingoperations;

It is a further object of this invention to provide a toy machine whichmay be manually operated;

It is a further object of this invention to provide a toy machine whichinvolves a number of moving parts which may be visually seen;

' It is a further object of this invention to provide a toy marblemachine having a signalling device which sounds periodically during itsoperations;

It is a further object of this invention to provide a toy marble machinehaving its own storage compartment for the marbles when they are not inuse;

It is a further object of this invention to provide a toy marble machinewhich will be educational to the 0ptor through observing its operation;

A further object of this invention is to provide a toy marble machinewhich is simple in design, economical to manufacture and refined inappearance.

This invention consists in the construtcion, arrangements, andcombination, of the various parts of the device, whereby the objectscontemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth,specifically pointed out in the claims, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of the toy marble machine of thisinvention; a

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the outlet end of the feedgravity conveyor and in particular showing a marble held therein by areleasable gate pin;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the scoop member on the endof the balance arm in a position wherein a marble is being ejectedtherefrom; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view taken along the back side ofthe marble machine as shown in FIG. 1 to illustrate the construction andoperation of the signalling device which is actuated by the balance arm.

The marble machine is generally referred to in FIG. 1 by the referencenumeral 10. It is shown to comprise a gravity conveyor 12 whichdischarges marbles 13 into a scoop member 14 on the end of a balance arm16. An ejector 18 removes the marbles from the scoop where they are thenreceived by a gravity conveyor 20. An endless belt conveyor 22 thenreturns the marbles to the feeder conveyor 12.

A straight sided frame 24 with rounded ends 25 and 25 is provided forthe machine 10 and rests upon four legs 26 positioned at each of itscorners. A compartment 28 is formed in the base of the frame 24 underthe conveyor and has an access opening (not shown) through which themarbles may be placed when not in use for storage.

3,251,155 Patented May 17, 1966 The conveyor 20 is channel shaped incross-section and U-shaped in plan (FIG. 1) and has an inlet end 30raised relative to its outlet end 32. At the inlet end 30, the ejectormember 18 is provided. The ejector is generally in the shape of aninverted V, having one flat leg 34 secured to the bottom of the channelconveyor 20 with its other leg formed with a concave portion 36 adjacentthe vertex of the V and terminating in a concave portion 38 at the lowerend of the leg where it is secured to the base of the conveyor channel20.

A housing 40 encloses on the sides the continuous belt conveyor 22. Thelower end 42 of the conveyor 22 is adjacent the outlet end 32 of channel20 and a discharge end 44 is disposed upwardly and r'earwardlytherefrom. A plurality of paddles 46 are uniformly spaced and securedalong the outside surface of the continuous belt conveyor 22. Each ofthe paddles 46 are concave I on one side and have a central opening 47tonestingly receive the marbles 13. A crank member 48 is provided at thelower end of the continuous belt conveyor 22 and is intended to beoperated in a clockwise direction when viewing the machine asillustrated in FIG. 1. The housing 40 has a guard member 50 at the upperend to guide the marbles 13 into an inlet end 51 of the conveyor 12.

Conveyor 12 is afiixed to the bottom of the guard 50 and is supported bya member 52 in a position such that the inlet end 51 is higher than theoutlet end 54. Thus, the marbles 13 will move from the end 51 to the end54 by gravity. The conveyor 12 is also channelshaped in cross-sectionsimilar to the conveyor 20 and U-shaped in plan. At the outlet end 54-,a downwardly directed spout 56 is provided and has a gate pin 58extending transversely thereof and movable vertically in a pair of slots60 formed in the sidewalls of the channel. When the pin 58 is down, themarbles are prevented from passing out the spout 56.

The bottom of the spout 56 is normally telescopically embraced by thescoop 14 (FIG. 1). It has a pair of walls 62 and 64, and endwall 66 withan opening 68 formed therein. A bottom wall 70 is provided with a cutout portion 72 which extends into the bottom portion of the end wall 66.

The scoop member 14 is provided on one end of the balance arm 16 whichis pivotally mounted intermediate its ends to a member 74 which alsosupports the conveyor 12 and rests on the base frame 24. The other end76 of the arm 16 (FIG. 4) carries a balance weight 78 which isadjustable therealong by releasing screw 80.

Adjacent the end 76'of the balance arm 16 is a bell 82 secured to theframe 24'. A bell striker 84 is pro vided on the end of a pivotalsupport rod 86 which in turn is pivotally secured to the frame 2-4 by abearing mounting 88. A portion of the rod 86 extends directly behind thebell 82 and is semicircular in shape to accommodate the circular shapeof the bell. On the opposite side of the bearing 88 from the portion 90is a rod portion 92 which extends upwardly and has a roller member 94mounted thereon for engagement by the balance arm end 76 when the arm isin its normal position as shown in FIG. 1.

In operation, marbles 13 may be taken from the storage compartment 28and placed initially in either the channel conveyor 12 or 20. If themarbles are first placed in the channel conveyor 20 they will be carriedby the paddles 46 to the conveyor 12 upon rotation of the crank 48.Since the conveyor 20 is of the gravity type, marbles placed at anypoint therein will move into engagement with the conveyor belt 22 to beengaged by one of the paddles 46. The feed conveyor 12 is also of thegravity type and the marbles will follow the U-shaped course of theconveyor and line up against the gate pin 58. As shown in FIG. 1, thesides 62 and 64 normally engage the ends of the gate pin 58 to hold itin its upper position within the slots 60 thereby permitting a marble 13as shown in FIG. 2 to drop through the spout 56 into the scoop 14. Theweight of a marble will shift the center of gravity of the balance arm16 to the scoop 14 thereby causing the balance arm to pivot downwardly.The gate pin 58 is simultaneously dropped to prevent any additionalmarbles from being released from the conveyor 12 until the scoop 14 hasreturned. As the balance arm 16 moves to its lowermost position as shownin FIG. 3, the ejector member 18 is received through the cutaway portion72 and contacts the marble 13 along the concave portion 36 of theejector to push the marble 13 upwardly and outwardly through the opening68 in the end wall 66 of the scoop 14. The marble 13 is then received bythe conveyor channel 20 where it begins its return trip back to theendless conveyor belt 22.

Referring now to FIG. 4, it is seen that the end 76 opposite the scoop14 on the balance arm 16 strikes the roller 94 each time the balance armmoves to the position shown in FIG. 1 to receive a marble 13. Thisstriking action causes the support rod 86 to pivot upon impact and movethe bell striker 84 into impact engagement with the bell 82. When thebalance arm 16 is in the position as shown in FIG. 3 wherein the scoop14 is lowered adjacent the ejctor 18, the bell striker 84 movesrearwardly on the support rod 86 to be ready for striking the bell 82once the balance arm 16 has returned to its position of FIG. 1 toreceive another marble 13.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of my toymarble conveying machine without departing from the real spirit andpurpose of my invention, and it is my invention to cover by my claims,any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents whichmay be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim:

1. A toy marble machine, comprising:

a first marble conveyor having a discharge station;

a pivotal balance arm having a scoop on one end, means for normallypivoting said arm to an up position with said scoop in communicationwith said discharge station to receive marbles from said scoop, said armpivoting to a down position upon a marble being placed in a said scoop;

a gate member provided in said first conveyor adapted to be operativelyopened by said balance arm to permit discharge of marbles into saidscoop;

an ejector member positioned in the path movement of said arm forcommunication with said scoop when said arm is in said down positiononly;

a second conveyor to receive said marbles from said scoop, and saidejector member engaging said members when said arm is in said downposition for ejecting them into said second conveyor; and

means for returning said marbles to said first conveyor.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said scoop has an opening in itsbottom side and an opening in one of its side walls, and said scoop isadapted to telescope onto said ejector member through said bottomopening and engage said marble for ejecting it out of said scoop throughsaid side wall opening into said second conveyor, and said balance armreturns to said first position to receive another marble.

3. The structure of claim 1 wherein said first and second conveyors arecharacterized as being of the gravity type.

4. The structure of claim 1 wherein sa1d gate member is a pin extendingacross said discharge station for closing it to passage of marbles,guide means for guiding said pin between up and down positions, and saidscoop engaging and raising said pin above said marbles when said arm isin said up position for opening said discharge station of pivotal t topermit a marble to move into said scoop and said scoop being adapted topivot on said balance arm away from said discharge station whereuponsaid pin returns to its closed down position preventing passage ofmarbles through said discharge station.

5. The structure of claim 1 wherein said means for returning saidmarbles to said first conveyor comprises an endless belt having aplurality of paddles, said second conveyor being in communication withthe endless belt for discharging marbles thereon to be carried by saidpaddles to said first conveyor and discharged thereon.

6. The structure of claim 1 wherein said means for returning saidmarbles to said first conveyor comprises an endless belt having aplurality of paddles, said second conveyor being in communication withthe endless belt for discharging marbles thereon to be carried by saidpaddles to said first conveyor and discharged thereon, and means foroperating said endless belt conveyor.

7. The structure of claim 1 including sound means adapted to be actuatedby said balance arm each time said arm moves to said up position.

8. A toy marble machine, comprising:

a first marble conveyor having a discharge station;

a balance arm means pivotally supported intermediate its ends and oneend having a scoop member while the other end carries a weight memberfor maintaining said arm means in a first position wherein said scoop isnormally adjacent said discharge station, said scoop and said dischargestation being in communication with each other for said scoop to receivemarbles from said station;

a bell having a striker element connected to supporting arm means, saidsupporting arm means being adapted to be struck by the other end of saidbalance arm means as said scoop moves to its position adjacent saidmarble discharge station to move said striker element into contact withsaid bell thereby causing it to ring;

an ejector member positioned below and in the path of said scoop, andsaid balance arm means adapted to pivot downwardly adjacent said ejectormember upon said scoop receiving a marble and said ejector contactingsaid marble in said scoop to discharge it therefrom;

second conveyor means adapted to receive said marbles ejected from saidscoop; and

means for returning said marbles to said first conveyor from said secondconveyor.

9. The structure of claim 8 wherein said machine has a supporting framewith a compartment therein for storage of said marbles.

10. A toy marble machine, comprising:

a first marble conveyor having a discharge station;

a balance arm means having a scoop means on one end, and said scoopmeans adapted to be in communication with said discharge station toreceive marbles;

a gate member provided in said first conveyor adapted to the operativelyopened by said balance arm means to permit discharge of marbles intosaid scoop means;

an ejector member adapted to be in communication with the inside of saidscoop means to eject said marbles;

a second conveyor means adapted to receive said marbles from said scoopmeans;

means for returning said marbles to said first conveyor;

said balance arm means being pivotally supported and balanced so that itnormally is pivoted to a first position wherein said scoop means isadjacent said discharge station for receiving a marble, and uponreceiving a marble is pivoted to a second position adjacent said ejectormember;

5 6 said ejector member being in the shape of an inverted ReferencesCited by the Examiner 10?)? 52511 13122 12 oijinififiniti fiitafi iii:UNITED STATES PATENTS and an opening in one of its side Walls, and said1099507 6/1914 Marshall 46-43 scoop means being adapted to telescopeonto said 5 1,244,457 10/1917 ejector member through said bottom openingand en 1,274,979 8/1918 Bhley 273-420 gage said marble for ejecting itout of said scoop 1,617,846 2/1927 Hawk means through said side Wallopening into said second RICHARD C PINKHAM Primary Examiner. conveyormeans, and said balance arm means returns to said first position toreceive another marble. LOUIS BOVASSO, Assistant Examiner'-

1. A TOY MARBLE MACHINE, COMPRISING: A FIRST MARBLE CONVEYOR HAVING ADISCHARGE STATION; A PIVOTAL BALANCE ARM HAVING A SCOOP ON ONE END,MEANS FOR NORMALLY PIVOTING SAID ARM TO AN UP POSITION WITH SAID SCOOPIN COMMUNICATION WITH SAID DISCHARGE STATION TO RECEIVE MARBLES FROMSAID SCOOP, SAID ARM PIVOTING TO A DOWN POSITION UPON A MARBLE BEINGPLACED IN A SCOOP; A GATE MEMBER PROVIDED IN SAID FIRST CONVEYOR ADAPTEDTO BE OPERATIVELY OPENED BY SAID BALANCE ARM TO PERMIT DISCHARGE OFMARBLES INTO SAID SCOOP; AN EJECTOR MEMBER POSITIONED IN THE PATH OFPIVOTAL MOVEMENT OF SAID ARM FOR COMMUNICATION WITH SAID SCOOP WHEN SAIDARM IS IN SAID DOWN POSITION ONLY; A SECOND CONVEYOR TO RECEIVE SAIDMARBLES FROM SAID SCOOP, AND SAID EJECTOR MEMBER ENGAGING SAID MEMBERSWHEN SAID ARM IS IN SAID DOWN POSITION FOR EJECTING THEM INTO SAIDSECOND CONVEYOR; AND MEANS FOR RETURNING SAID MARBLES TO SAID FIRSTCONVEYOR.